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With more than 8,000 members, the Greater Cleveland Partnership is one of the largest metropolitan chambers of commerce in the country. Learn about our work to advance economic development and improve the business climate in our city, region and state.

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Every Monday -- News from GCP

January 2nd, 2017

Looking ahead to build on positive momentum

As we welcome in the new year, the Greater Cleveland Partnership will continue to focus on continuing the positive momentum that has been building for many years and resulted in several memorable accomplishments in 2016. (See our 2016 year-end issue of Every Monday for details.)

Through the first half of 2017, we will launch a strategic planning process to identify where we should focus on percolating issues. We’ll also continue to drive the business community’s involvement in several of our current priority areas. They include:

Education and Workforce

Workforce development issues and challenges are at the top of the list of concerns faced by employers of all sizes. Through our many partnerships with the public and private sectors, we have developed programs focused on college and career readiness, internships, and job placement. Expect more to come in this area as a result of our strategic planning effort.

Government Advocacy

The GCP acts as a connector, listening to the business community to identify priority issues for the private sector and educating elected officials to create and shape public policy that will accelerate our region’s resurgence and maximize the economic development potential for all Greater Clevelanders.

Last year, our work helped eliminate a potential Cleveland only minimum wage ballot issue avoiding a negative outcome for the city. Later this month, we’ll publish our 2017-2018 Public Policy Agenda that will guide our government advocacy work for the next two years.

Business Development, Expansion and Retention

We’re committed to ensuring that companies that call Greater Cleveland home will remain here and grow. And, through our award-winning Business Development Team, we’re working hard to attract new companies to our community by providing connectivity and access to services and resources that help businesses of all sizes and various stages of maturity.

Infrastructure and Physical Development

Through our real estate and business development finance affiliate, Cleveland Development Advisors (CDA), and external partners, we work to leverage and connect existing assets and create new catalytic projects that stimulate additional economic development and investment.

Our goal is to support projects that further enhance the business climate and position Greater Cleveland as a great place to live, work and play. In December, CDA was awarded another $60 million in federal funding for catalytic projects in a very competitive national field.

Success means that minorities will more fully participate in the benefits of and contribute to, economic growth in Northeast Ohio. Through the Commission on Economic Inclusion, we are focused on including more minorities in the senior management and board leadership of Greater Cleveland companies and organizations, increasing access to jobs that pay well, and growing minority-owned businesses in the region.

Air Service

We will continue to work closely with the city and Hopkins International Airport to ensure that important nonstop markets are served and encourage new carriers to consider Cleveland as an area of opportunity.

This is an exciting time for Cleveland, and we look forward to continuing to serve as the voice at the table, lead advocate and convener for the metro Cleveland's business community.

A lasting tribute to Voinovich’s vision, leadership

By Joe Roman, GCP President and CEO

The opening of the new eastbound Innerbelt bridge last year completed a half-billion-dollar investment in Cleveland—one that offers a towering testament to a unique leader, a city’s future and the ability of government to work effectively for the public.

Together with its corresponding westbound twin, the two George V. Voinovich bridges spanning the Cuyahoga River downtown will each carry five lanes of traffic, bringing with them significant transportation efficiencies and other substantial economic benefits for Greater Cleveland.

The spans are a fitting tribute to a man who dedicated his life toward moving Cleveland forward.

As the city’s mayor, Voinovich—a reassuring and practical leader—skillfully liberated Cleveland from the inherited mire of default and restored the city’s fiscal integrity.

Though he also served as Ohio’s governor and as a U.S. senator, it could be argued that it was Voinovich’s steady leadership during the early years of his mayoral service that represent his finest hours as a public servant.

Above photo: At the ribbon cutting for the George V. Voinovich westbound Innerbelt Bridge in November 2013, the former U.S. Senator, governor and mayor (third from left) was joined by family members, state and local elected officials and hundreds of onlookers.

Welcome, new GCP members

We’re pleased to welcome these new Greater Cleveland Partnership Investor members. Links to their websites (where available) are below. Click learn more about them.

Business professionals needed for mock interviews
with CMSD 11th graders; two dates available

As part of the Greater Cleveland Partnership’s college and career readiness work with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District Academies of Cleveland schools, we are helping to identify business professionals who are interested in conducting mock interviews with a small group of 11th graders.

The interviews will be held Wednesday, January 18, 2017 from 8:30 to 10: 30 a.m. at the Jane Addams Business Careers Center, 2373 East 30th Street, and on Thursday, January 26, 2017 from 9 to 11 a.m. at Washington Park Environmental Studies, 3875 Washington Park Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44105.

The purpose is to help prepare the students for real-life job interviews by acting as the interviewer and providing constructive feedback to the students.

Please contact Angela Finding at 216.592.2385 or afinding@gcpartnership.com with questions or to volunteer. You may select one date or volunteer at both schools. Please indicate your preference when confirming your participation.

The Academies of Cleveland (AoC) is a new approach to college and career readiness for students in five Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) high schools: Garrett Morgan, Jane Addams Business Careers Center, Martin Luther King Jr., Max S. Hayes, and Washington Park Environmental Studies.

Each school focuses on career pathways from a variety of industries that drive economic growth in our community. The AoC schools work to ensure that young people are prepared to learn for a lifetime, thrive in tomorrow’s dynamic workplaces, and contribute to Cleveland’s economic and civic prosperity.

GCP helping to connect employers and students through job shadowing experiences

The Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP) is helping to connect Northeast Ohio employers with prep2practice™, an online tool powered by The Center for Health Affairs that matches students with real-life job shadowing experiences in several occupations. They include:

Healthcare

Advanced manufacturing

IT

Engineering

Construction

Creative industries and more

This system provides a centralized online location for students, schools and businesses to work collaboratively to create and coordinate prep2practice experiences. Click here to see how it works.

Prep2practice benefits Northeast Ohio in several ways including:

Businesses discover their future workforce by expanding their reach.

Schools make the connection with local businesses to help students find their future career.

Students discover the possibilities of their future through real-life job shadowing experiences.

Are you a business or school interested in prep2practice? Do you know a student who may be interested in a prep2practice experience?

Help develop the future manufacturing workforce

The WIRE-Net youth workforce team is looking for manufacturing companies to provide internship opportunities for qualified welding, machining, and manufacturing design (CADD) students from Max S. Hayes High School.

Internships can be a winning workforce recruitment strategy by providing a short-term work experience that potentially leads to long-term employment.

While each internship is flexible based on company and student needs, most internships share these common characteristics:

Liability insurance for students participating in an internship will be covered by Cleveland Metropolitan School District.

Students have approximately 360 classroom hours in their career pathway by the time they reach their senior year and have continuously reviewed safety protocols.

Internships begin in mid-January and last through the month of April.

Interns work in the afternoon for approximately 10 hours per week.

Employers determine the rate of pay, but it must be at least minimum wage.

A company sponsor is assigned to mentor the intern while on-site.

At least one review session will occur among the student, teacher, and company mentor.

GCP Membership

Greater Cleveland Partnership

Our Mission

The Greater Cleveland Partnership mobilizes private-sector leadership, expertise and resources to create attractive business conditions that create jobs, grow investment and improve the economic prosperity of the region.